With the tragic, unexpected death of Sean Costello, the blues world lost a guy I and others thought was the Next Big Thing in that idiom. The good news is that there are still others out there working hard to put their own stamp on the blues with a level of passion and prowess that approaches Costello's. One of those guys is St. Louis' own Mike Zito.

Zito didn't enjoy the early career boosts that the late child prodigy got, but he's certainly paid his dues over the years. Whether it's been touring across the nation, aboard with notables like Walter Trout as part of the USO show, or back at home in St. Louis for shows six nights a week, Zito honed his brand of soulful, funky blues. He's created his appealing, wide-ranging sound by distilling into it bits of Hendrix, Van Halen, Vaughan, Clapton, B.B. King, and even more contemporary artists like John Meyer. Several years ago, Zito won his battles with subtance abuse and being cleaned up gave him renewed vigor and focus toward his music.

Today, released on May 20, marks another big step forward for Zito: while it's his fifth release, it's the first with a bonafide record label, Eclecto Groove Music. Eclecto Groove must be a big believer in Zito, because they not only signed him, but they provided him with a crack crew of musicians that includes Tom Petty keyboardist Benmont Tench, bassist Hutch Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt) and Tony Braunagel (Raitt, Taj Mahal). Overseeing the making of this record was the top-shelf production team of David Z, Tony Braunagel and executive producer Randy Chortkoff, the label chief.

One listen to Today is all you need to understand why Chortkoff made the investment in Zito. Zito is a fully-developed triple-threat as singer, songwriter and guitar player. Fully confident of his songwriting abilities, twelve of the thirteen tracks are his own. They're varied, smartly paced and showcase both his soulful throat and his Clapton-Vaughan hybrid axe playing equally well.